Retreat! (RP)

"Erm... Excuse me..." The demon booms hesitantly when Emma suggests staying here and not going down the tunnel. "I do have a job, you know." It seems a lot happier when Persephone both suggests continuing in the direction it was supposed to chase you, and allowing it to come along.

Of down the tunnel, whence it came, the demon knows nothing. It was summoned where it started and given orders. It did not think to go exploring.

"If I had the name... oooh, what torments I would wreak upon their person!" The demon rubs its hands in glee. "But what sorceries would you use to learn such valuable information?" 'True Names' are a big deal, people don't share them willy-nilly, you can't get them off someone's driver's licence, or even from a friend, the exact way they are spoken, the precise pattern of sounds made by the mouth and mind of the person themselves, is hard to emulate... if you believe such things.

What do you all do?

- Emma -

"Um... I'm not sure I should allow you to wander around...." The demon says in the ignored background, though it does not sound too confident about its ability to do anything about it.

What do you do?

"Well, it probably isn’t his true name," Benji says to the demon. "But I have reason to believe a wizard named Chaudry might have summoned you here. Does that sound right to you?"

To Emma and Persephone, he explains, "I was tracking a hellhound through the park when I ran into you two. I’m pretty sure the hellhound was summoned by the same wizard… or, at least, that would be the simplest explanation anyway."

He peers down the tunnel in the direction Emma indicated and nods. "That certainly makes sense to me! I’m sure this demon wasn’t summoned to chase us toward the exit after all."

- Benji -

"Indian fella? Could be." The demon agrees that Chaudry may well be its current master.

"The hellhound?... I don't think so, not unless he royally messed up. I think this whole thing has something to do with getting rid of that thing. Though I am only guessing from, ya know, outside clues." It indicates the carcasses used as distractions and possible attempts to get past the hellhound guardian.

"Be a mate, though, bruv. You already stabbed me. Don't make me fight you. You have to go that way." The poor demon whines when the conversation continues to drive away from its task. It does not sound at all happy about the idea of fighting you again, but it does not actually have a choice.

What do you do?

"Listen, you don’t seem like such a bad chap and I’d really rather not kill you either but, if you try to stop us, I’m afraid I won’t have much choice," Benji says, sympathetically. "What are your orders precisely? Perhaps we can find a way to work around them."

- Benji -

"'Work 'round them'?" The demon says, feeling the strange words in it mouth. "I didn't know that were an option." It contemplates your proposal.

"Stand here. Wait for portal. Someone falls through. Scare them, and chase them all the way down that passage. How did I do? Did I scare you? Four out of five ain't bad? ... But I suspect that last one was the only one that actually mattered?"

It is probably correct that all the preliminary orders were ... well... preliminary to the actual order, which was to chase the victim into the trap. If you can find a way around that, it is all ears... Well, not all 'ears', much of it is also 'naked man'.

What do you do?

"Well, did he say when you had to chase us down the passage? Seems to me we could take a short break between number four and five on your list there to do some exploring up the other end of the tunnel," Benji reasons.

- Benji -

"Seems like a 'technicality'." The demon says dubiously. But it is considering your words. "'When' was supposed to be right after 'human drops in'. The boss will already be wondering where we are, if he comes and checks..."

The demon stands awkwardly, clutching its side. "Grr! Argh!" It says unconvincingly, then 'softer' and more to itself. "There was only supposed to be one puny human. Not a knight with a sword and a demon guardian. No wonder they got past me!" It seems to be practicing excuses.

What do you do?

- Persephone -

"You trying to trick me?" The demon says when you ask it its name in the middle of a conversation about the importance of names. It can't see what you are up to, the trick must be real cunning to go over it head. "You want to get together when we get back home?" It waggles its ... let's pretend we are only talking about ... eyebrows at you suggestively.

What do you do?

Chaudry
Chaudry is a small time conjurer, specialising in summonings. He fell into disrepute after a few schemes went bad a few years ago and has been trying to recover his reputation... unfortunately his reputation is that of a fraudster and con-artist.

He had a connection with an illegal dog fighting ring, allegedly using demon dogs, but, if this demon is to be believed, that may have been part of a larger plan, research to get past the hellhound that Benji has been hunting. Rumours of this particular 'track cryptid' predate Chaudry's time in London.

Emma: You did not really speak to Henry after lunch, but what you could gather from Kat might suggest that Chaudry was the extra man at that gathering. He does not seem their type: Maybe he is working a con on them? Maybe they are using him for their own ends? Maybe it does not matter, they all tried to kill you.

Persephone: Chaudry has caused more problems for demons and their reputation than almost anyone. He is spoken of in he same vein as that guy that put lead in petrol and CFCs in refrigerators. You don't have free reign to take him out —you don't know who his benefactors may be— but messing with his plans will definitely buy you brownie points, and eliminating him —especially discretely— would be for the greater good... of demonkind...

This demon before you is par for the course with Chaudry, mostly show, little actual fighting ability. But he does have some tricks up his sleeves, so don't underestimate his minions.

- Emma -

Um, yeah, maybe you are getting a hint as to where the stories of demons having tails with anchor shaped ends comes from...

What do you do?

- Persephone -

"They let you have a phone!!?" The demon says, awestruck. "Those are, like, ultimate temptation for humans. But you broke it?" It sounds genuinely distraught at your loss of such an artifact of human-kind.

It does not have a phone, nor any way to contact you using one. It will also need some motivation to reveal its true name —the easiest way to get hold of it, in- or out of hell— but, and don't ask me how you know, your act of carving your number into its chest was definitely a turn on.

What do you do?

Benji is watching Persephone’s exchange with the demon with a bewildered expression. He catches Emma’s pointed glance but it takes him a few seconds to decipher it. "Oh! You want me to go first?" He’d been hoping someone else would volunteer to lead the way, but he supposes it makes sense that it should be him. He’s the only one who can see in the dark, after all… "Well, alright. Follow me, then, I suppose!" He sets off down the tunnel.